Toxorhynchites
Meredith Bassett
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Nicknames
Nicknames
-mosquito hawk -elephant mosquito
-mosquito eater -crane fly
Taxonomy
Taxonomy
•Kingdom: Animalia --> Eukaryotic and multicellular
•Phylum: Arthropoda --> Invertebrate
•Class: Insecta --> Insect
•Order: Diptera --> One pair of wings
•Family: Culicidae --> slender; long-legged
•Genus: Toxorhynchites --> mosquito hawks
•Species: many species about 70 species with 3 subgenras
Appearance
Appearance
-eggs are white/yellow in color; oval-shaped
-adults are on average 13-20 mm but some larger species can grow up to 35 mm
-greenish tint
Characteristics
-invertebrate
-reproduces sexually, lays eggs, will hatch into larvae
-flying insects
-non-blood feeding
Food
Food
-heterotroph
-larva will eat plants, plant tissue, fungi, and some species will eat mosquito larvae
-adults drink nectar from flowers and other plants and will eat a small percentage of mosquito larvae
-contrary to their name, mosquito hawks do not eat mosquitoes
Habitat
Habitat
-live all over the world, mainly the tropics
-usually in warmer climates
-environments that are close to water
Toxorhynchites and Dengue Virus Experiment
Toxorhynchites and Dengue Virus Experiment
Article: The Use of Toxorhynchites Mosquitoes to Detect and Propagate Dengue and Other Arboviruses
Author: Leon Rosen
Rosen wanted to test if Toxorhynchites would be able to act as hosts to detect and propagate dengue virus and other arboviruses
Studied Toxorhynchites amboinensis and Toxorhynchites brevipalpis located in Hawaii, The Phillippines, Tahiti, and Papua New Guinea
Studied for 16 hours a day for 14 days
This table shows two different species of Toxorhynchites and a species of regular mosquitoes, the sex of the mosquitoes, strains of the dengue virus, and where the mosquitoes are from
Conclusions
Conclusions
•Concluded that the species of Toxorhynchites studied were not the most susceptible to the viruses being tested
•Taking account sensitivity, temperature, safety, hardiness, size, and economy of the Toxorhynchites, researchers had a difficult time for the mosquito hawks to take the virus, and when they did, results varied
•Cannot say that other species of Toxorhynchites won’t have different results and suggest that the researchers should experiment on other mosquito hawk species
References
References
Rosen, Leon. (1981). “The Use of Toxorhynchites Mosquitoes to Detect and Propagate Dengue and Other Arboviruses.” The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 30(1),177-183.
Steffan, Wallace A. & Evenhuis, Neil L. (1981). “Biology of Toxorhynchites”. Ann. Rev. Entomol, 26,159-181.
https://entomologytoday.org/2015/08/17/mosquito-hawk-skeeter-eater-giant-mosquito-no-no-and-no/
https://www.britannica.com/animal/crane-fly
Image Sources:
https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/mosquito-hawk-sunny-teresa-a-lang.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ot-AbPcdNAY/TZlFZHlLkvI/AAAAAAAABfE/LuOC66t5JQA/s1600/Misquito+Hawk.jpg
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